ISPs currently operate on incredibly tight margins in order to offer cheap broadband deals to the public. One way of creating a new revenue stream would be to supply faster, prioritised access to a select group of websites willing to pay. “ISPs are not getting much revenue from broadband but they can generate revenue from other services or by charging websites for better access. Charging at both ends could be very appealing to them,” said Mr Fogg.

It took the FTC a mere 169 pages to arrive at that result in its new report on the topic, probably one of the most exhaustive treatments of Net neutrality to date. It concludes: “We recommend that policy makers proceed with caution in evaluating proposals to enact regulation in the area of broadband Internet access.”…”Net neutrality is a meaningless term, lacking a rationale or analytical basis to impose new regulations on the Internet,” Muris said. “Some government actions, while seeking to help consumers, harm them instead. As the FTC report today detailed, robust competition and dynamic business models pervade the Internet.”